Entering the NCAA Tournament as one of the No. 3 seeds and facing the No. 14-seed Penn Quakers in the first round set up the Illinois Fighting Illini for early success in the Big Dance.
Now, with an update from Pennsylvania that star forward TJ Power has come down with a sudden illness, those chances for success are blossoming.
While Power's exact illness wasn't specified, Penn head coach Fran McCaffery shared that he was with the team, and that he "Just got here, wants to watch. We’ll see how he feels."
Illinois might have easy 1st-round win with TJ Power under the weather
Power leads the Quakers in rebounds per game (7.9) and has the second-most points per game on the roster (16.8), only trailing fellow starting forward Ethan Roberts. To put it lightly, his absence would be devastating for Penn's odds at pulling off the upset
At the end of the day, one of a team's star players is most likely going to push himself to be ready for the game, come sickness or health. However, if he isn't feeling 100 percent as the Quakers take the floor, the Illini's likelihood of a dominant win becomes a little more certain.
It actually plays right into one of the points of focus for Illinois head coach Brad Underwood, who wants his team to be more aggressive when it comes to grabbing rebounds off the defensive glass.
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Even if Power is on the court for the Quakers, it will help McCaffery's squad stand a chance against Illinois. Yet, at the end of the day, even before Power's sickness was announced, the Fighting Illini were favored by 24.5 points.
If you're curious, after McCaffery shared the news of Power being under the weather, that almost immediately spread increased to 25.5 points in favor of the Illini.
Illinois and Pennsylvania are scheduled to play on Thursday, March 19, at 8:25 p.m. ET, and the game will be broadcast on TNT (with or without Power in the lineup).